College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
The College Board offers examinations covering material taught in courses that most students take in the first two years of college. Students may earn credit for CLEP exams with a passing score of 50 or more. Coastline College grants unit and Coastline general education credit for most exams. The last table includes exams that are now inactive, but students may still receive credit based on when they took the exam.
- CLEP credits will count towards general education, major, or elective credits for the Associate degree or transferable CSU units. See the CLEP Chart below for the required scores and applicability.
- The University of California does not grant credit for CLEP.
- CLEP may or may not be accepted by other colleges and universities. A student must check with the specific transfer institution to determine regulations regarding CLEP. General CLEP policies can be found in the college catalogs.
- CLEP exams may not be used to retake or improve a grade in a course at Coastline or any other institution.
- CLEP credit posted to another institution’s transcript will be reevaluated based on Coastline’s standards and may or may not be equal to credit received at another institution. CLEP credit posted to a student’s Coastline transcript may or may not be accepted for equal units at another institution.
- Coastline has a CLEP and DSST National Test Center on base at the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base.
Transfer Students: The CSU requires a passing score of at least 50 on the CLEP exam. CSU campuses will grant unit credit toward admission and possibly local CSU GE credit and/or CSU American Institutions graduation requirements. Some CSUs will grant credit toward the major, but this is determined by each individual campus. Check with your counselor, or the CSU CLEP Exam Credit webpage for more information.
| CLEP Exam | CCC Passing Score | CCC Subject Credit | CCC AA/AS GE Area | CSU Passing Score | CSU Semester Transfer Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Government | 50 | (3) | Area 4 | 50 | 3 |
| American Literature | 50 | (3) | Area 3B | 50 | 3 |
| Analyzing and Interpreting Literature | 50 | ENGL C1002 (3) | Area 3B | 50 | 3 |
| Biology | 50 | BIOL C100 (3) | Area 5B | 50 | 3 |
| Calculus | 50 | MATH C180 (5) | Area 2 | 50 | 3 |
| Chemistry | 50 | CHEM C130 (4) | Area 5A | 50 | 3 |
| College Algebra | 50 | MATH C115 (4) | Area 2 | 50 | 3 |
| College Composition | 50 | N/A | 0 | 50 | 0 |
| College Composition-Modular | 50 | N/A | 0 | 50 | 0 |
| College Mathematics | 50 | MATH C100 (3) | Area 2 | 50 | 0 |
| English Literature | 50 | (3) | Area 3B | 50 | 3 |
| Financial Accounting | 50 | N/A | N/A | 50 | 3 |
| French Level I1 | 50 | (6) | Area 3B | 50 | 6 |
| French Level II1 | 59 | (9) | Area 3B | 59 | 9 |
| German Level I1 | 50 | (6) | Area 3B | 50 | 6 |
| German Level II1 | 50 | (9) | Area 3B | 60 | 9 |
| History, US I | 50 | (3) | Area 4 | 50 | 3 |
| History, US II | 50 | (3) | Area 4 | 50 | 3 |
| Human Growth and Development | 50 | PSYC C118 (3) | Area 4 or 7E | 50 | 3 |
| Humanities | 50 | HUM C100 (3) | Area 3B | 50 | 3 |
| Information Systems | 50 | CIS C111 (3) | N/A | 50 | 3 |
| Introduction to Educational Psychology | 50 | N/A | N/A | 50 | 3 |
| Introductory Business Law | 50 | N/A | N/A | 50 | 3 |
| Introductory Psychology | 50 | PSYC C1000 (3) | Area 4 | 50 | 3 |
| Introductory Sociology | 50 | SOC C100 (3) | Area 4 | 50 | 3 |
| Natural Sciences | 50 | (6) | Area 5B | 50 | 3 |
| Precalculus | 50 | MATH C170 (5) | Area 2 | 50 | 3 |
| Principles of Macroeconomics | 50 | ECON C2002 (3) | Area 4 | 50 | 3 |
| Principles of Management | 50 | MGMT C100 (3) | 0 | 50 | 3 |
| Principles of Marketing | 50 | BUS C150 (3) | 0 | 50 | 3 |
| Principles of Microeconomics | 50 | ECON C2001 (3) | Area 4 | 50 | 3 |
| Social Science & History | 50 | N/A | 0 | 50 | 0 |
| Spanish Level I1 | 50 | (6) | Area 3B | 50 | 6 |
| Spanish Level II1 | 50 | (9) | Area 3B | 63 | 9 |
| Western Civilization I | 50 | (3) | Area 4 | 50 | 3 |
| Western Civilization II | 50 | (3) | Area 4 | 50 | 3 |
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CSU Note: If a student passes more than one CLEP test in the same language other than English (e.g. two exams in French), then only one examination may be applied to the baccalaureate. For each test in a language other than English, a passing score of 50 is considered “Level I” and earns six units of baccalaureate credit.
Retired CLEP Exams
| CLEP Exam | CCC Passing Score | CCC Subject Credit | CCC AA/AS GE Area | CSU Passing Score | CSU Semester Transfer Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calculus (prior to Fall 2009) | 50 | MATH C180 (5) | 2 | 51 | 3 |
| Chemistry (Prior to Fall 2009) | 50 | CHEM C130 (4) | 5A | 48 | 3 |
| French Level II (prior to Fall 2015) | 50 | (9) | 3B | 59 | 12 |
| German Level II (prior to Fall 2015) | 50 | (6) | 3B | 60 | 12 |
| Spanish Level II (prior to Fall 2015) | 50 | (9) | 3B | 59 | 12 |
| Trigonometry (prior to Fall 2006) | 50 | (3) | 2 | 50 | 3 |